Residents and businesses in the resort village of Manitou Beach hope another addition to the community’s berm will protect buildings as the Little Manitou Lake’s water level continues to rise.

Millie Strueby owns Danceland, a dance hall in the community which sits 100 kilometres east of Saskatoon.

She says they built a berm in front of the dance hall 10 years ago as water from the lake started to encroach her building.

Since then, residents and the community have made additions to the berm 4 more times.

Strueby explains the Little Manitou Lake is the low point in a 100 kilometre radius, meaning most of the runoff flows into their river, and a wet summer has made the situation more difficult.

It’s also difficult to remove the water in the lake right now because the lake is full of salt water.

Strueby says the berm seems to be holding right now, but if the berm were to break, there would be significant problems for the community. She says without the berm, the water would likely get close to Danceland’s floor.

Crews are just getting started on another addition to the berm, and Strueby says the village is working towards diverting the fresh water that is running off into their salt water lake.

Strueby says they are optimistic the berm addition will be enough to hold off the water during the winter. Still, she is making light of the situation, saying she has jokingly told people on dance night “if we can’t dance on land, we’ll dance on water”.